Lid assembly for cup

ABSTRACT

A lid assembly generally includes a shell body, a sealing member, and a nut. The shell body has a top portion and a circumferential portion. The shell body defines a water outlet and an air vent at an annular top surface thereof, and defines a through hole at a recessed surface thereof. The circumferential portion is provided at its outer surface with upper and lower flanges and connection means. The sealing member has a connection wing and a central shaft. The connection wing is provided with two pads capable of sealing the water outlet and the air vent, respectively. In use, the sealing member can be rotated forwardly to seal the water outlet and the air vent, thereby closing a cup fitted with the assembly. When drinking the beverage contained in the cup, the sealing member can be rotated reversely to uncover the water outlet and the air vent.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a lid assembly and, more particulary,to a lid assembly that can be installed on a cup so that the cup can beused more conveniently.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A cup is usually provided with a lid for ease of carrying and preventingthe liquid from splashing therefrom. A common way of connecting a lid toa cup is using threads, through which a lid can be detachably mounted ontop of a cup. When drinking the beverage contained in the cup, the lidshould be threaded out of the cup, and this may cause the lid to be losteasily. Another conventional way of connecting a lid to a cup is using apivotal joint, wherein the cup is usually provided with a torsionalspring therein and a snap device opposite to the pivotal joint. Afterthe cup is filled with a beverage, the cup can be closed with the snapdevice. For drinking the beverage, the snap device can be depressed byone hand to release the elastic force of the torsional spring to openthe cup. Although this type of cup is more convenient in use than theprevious type of cup, the snap device is easy to be triggeredinadvertently, causing the beverage splashing out of the cup to wetother objects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the present invention is to provide a lid assembly tosolve the disadvantages of conventional lids for cups.

The lid assembly generally comprises a shell body, a sealing member, anda nut. The shell body has a top portion and a circumferential portionthat are integrally formed. The top portion has a recessed surface andan annular top surface around the recessed surface and defines a throughhole which extends downwardly from the recessed surface. The annular topsurface defines a water outlet and an air vent at two opposite locationsthereof. A curved guide groove is defined at an inner surface of thethrough hole and extends about the through hole for a predeterminedangle. The circumferential portion is provided at its outer surface fromits top to bottom with upper and lower flanges and connection means. Anannular groove is defined between the upper and lower flanges. Theconnection means is adapted for connection to a cup. Two oppositepositioning protrusions are formed at the upper flange and extends intothe annular groove. The sealing member has a connection wing and acentral shaft formed at a center of the connection wing. The connectionwing is configured to have a central concave section matching therecessed surface of the shell body, and two peripheral convex sectionsformed at two ends of the central concave section and extending over theannular top surface and the upper flange and provided with two padscapable of sealing the water outlet and the air vent of the shell bodyrespectively. A ledge is formed at each peripheral convex section anddefines thereon a positioning indentation. The central shaft is providedat its outer surface from its top to bottom with a stop protrusion, awaterproof seal ring, and a threaded portion. The sealing member isinstalled on the shell body such that the central shaft is insertedthrough the through hole of the shell body, the ledge formed at eachperipheral convex section is fitted into the annular groove of the shellbody, the stop protrusion is capable of moving along the curved guidegroove to have the positioning protrusions respectively retained in thepositioning indentations. The nut is provided with internal threadsengaged with the threaded portion of the central shaft of the sealingmember which extends out of the through hole of the shell body.

More specifically, the upper flange is substantially elliptical in shapeand has a maximum projection width at two opposite locations on a majoraxis thereof, and the water outlet and the air vent are on the majoraxis; the upper flange has a minimum projection width at a second pairof opposite locations on a minor axis thereof which is perpendicular tothe major axis.

Each of the projection width and thickness of the upper flange isgradually changed from a maximum value to a minimum value. In use, thesealing member can be rotated forwardly to be aligned with themaximum-value locations or the major axis. During the forward rotation,the increasing thickness of the upper flange enables the two pads at thesealing member to force against the water outlet and the air vent of theshell body, respectively, thereby closing a cup that is fitted with thelid assembly. When drinking the beverage contained in the cup, thesealing member can be rotated reveresely to have the two pads moved awayfrom the water outlet and the air venrt to open the cup.

One advange of the present invention is that the cup fitted with the lidassembly can be opened by turning the sealing member to uncover thewater outlet and the air vent without taking the lid assembly out of thecup. Thus, the cup can be used more conveniently and the lid assemblycan be prevented from being lost while drinking the beverage.

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the present inventionwill become more apparent from the following detailed description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of a lid assembly according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a 3-dimensional view of the lid assembly being installed ona cup.

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the lid assembly, wherein the wateroutlet and the air vent are sealed.

FIG. 4 shows a schematical view of the lid assembly, wherein the wateroutlet and the air vent are sealed, and the maximun thickness (C) andminimum thickness (D) of the upper flange are indicated.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the lid assembly, wherein the water outletand the air vent are sealed, and the maximun projection width (A) andminimum projection width (B) of the upper flange are indicated.

FIG. 6 shows a 3-dimensional view of the lid assembly, wherein the wateroutlet and the air vent are not sealed.

FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of the lid assembly, wherein the wateroutlet and the air vent are not sealed.

FIG. 8 shows a top view of the lid assembly, wherein the water outletand the air vent are not sealed, and the maximun projection width (A)and minimum projection width (B) of the upper flange are indicated.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of the present invention, wherein theprocess of disassembling the lid assembly is demonstrated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

To illustrate the effects and advantages of the present invention, apreferred embodiment is provided in the following paragarphs withreference to the accompaning drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 5, a lid assembly according to oneembodiment of the present invention is shown, which generally comprisesa shell body 1, a sealing member 2, and a nut 3. The shell body 1 has atop portion and a circumferential portion that are integrally formed.The top portion has a recessed surface 10 and an annular top surface 10aaround the recessed surface 10, and defines a through hole 11 whichextends downwardly from the recessed surface 10. The annular top surface10a defines a water outlet 13 and an air vent 14 at two oppositelocations thereof. A curved guide groove 12 is defined at an innersurface of the through hole 11 and extends about the through hole 11 fora predetermined angle, such as 90 degrees. The circumferential portionof the shell body 1 is formed with an upper flange 16 and a lower flange18, between which an annular groove 15 is defined. The upper flange 16,which is substantially elliptical in shape, has a maximum projectionwidth (A) at a first pair of opposite locations on a major axis thereof(see FIG. 5). It is noted that the water outlet 13 and the air vent 14are also on the major axis. Also, the upper flange 16 has a minumumprojection width (B) at a second pair of opposite locations on a minoraxis thereof which is perpendicular to the major axis. In addition, theupper flange 16 has a maximum thickness (C) at the first pair ofopposite locations on the major axis (see FIG. 4). Also, the upperflange 16 has a minumum thickness (ED) at the second pair of oppositelocations on the minor axis. As such, each of the projection width andthickness of the upper flange 16 is gradually changed from a maximumvalue to a minimum value. Also, the circumferential portion of the shellbody 1 is provided below the flanges 16, 18 with connection means 19,such as threads, so that the shell body 1 is adapted for connection to acup 4. Furthermore, there are two opposite positioning protrusions 17formed at a lower surface of the upper flange 16, corresponding to thewater outlet 13 and the air vent 14, respectively, and extending intothe annular groove 15. The sealing member 2 has a connection wing and acentral shaft 26 formed at a center of the connection wing. Theconnection wing is configured to have a central concave section 20matching the recessed surface 10 of the shell body 1, and two peripheralconvex sections 21 formed at two ends of the central concave section 20and extending over the annular top surface 10a and the upper flange 16and provided with two pads 24, 25 capable of sealing the water outlet 13and the air vent 14 respectively, wherein each peripheral convex section21 is formed with a ledge 22 on which a positioning indentation 23 isdefined. The central shaft 26 is provided at its outer surface from itstop to bottom with a stop protrusion 29, a waterproof seal ring 27, anda threaded portion 28. The sealing member 2 is installed on the shellbody 1 such that the central shaft 26 can be inserted through thethrough hole 11 of the shell body 1, the ledge 22 formed at eachperipheral convex section 21 can be fitted into the annular groove 15 ofthe shell body 1, and the stop protrusion 29 can be moved along thecurved guide groove 12 to have the positioning protrusions 17 retainedin the positioning indentations 23, respectively. The nut 3 is providedwith internal threads 30 which can be engaged with the threaded portion28 of the central shaft 26 of the sealing member 2 which extends out ofthe through hole 11 of the shell body 1.

In assembling the components of the lid assembly, the sealing member 2can be placed over the top portion of the shell body 1 such that theconnection wing thereof is aligned with the minor axis of the upperflange 16 of the shell body 1, so that the two periperal convex sections21 of the connection wing can be located at the two opposite locationswhere the upper flange 16 has a minimum projection width (B) and aminimum thickness (D), and then the sealing member 2 can be pusheddownwardly such that the central concave section 20 thereof can approachthe recessed surface 10 of the shell body 1, the ledge 22 formed at eachperipheral convex section 21 can be fitted into the annular groove 15 ofthe shell body 1, the central shaft 26 can be inserted through thethrough hole 11 of the shell body 1, and the stop protrusion 29 can belocated at one end of the curved guide groove 12. Next, the nut 3 can beconnected with the threaded portion 28 of the central shaft 26, and thusthe sealing member 2 can be installed on the shell body 1 (see FIGS. 6,7 and 8). Thereafter, the sealing member 2 can be rotated forwardly by90 degrees such that the two periperal convex sections 21 are moved to asecond pair of opposite locations where the upper flange 16 has amaximum projection width (A) and a maximum thickness (C) (see FIGS. 3, 4and 5), and thus the positioning protrusions 17 formed at the upperflange 16 can be retained in the positioning indentations 23 of theshell body 1, respectively. Under this circumstance, the stop protrusion17 has been moved to the other end of the curved guide groove 12. Duringthe forward rotation of the sealing member 2, the increasing thicknessof the upper flange 16 enables the two pads 24, 25 to force against thewater outlet 13 and the air vent 14, respectively, thereby closing a cupthat is fitted with the lid assembly. In this embodiment, the curvedguide groove 12 extends about the through hole 11 of the shell body 1for 90 degrees, wherein one end of the curved guide groove 12corresponds to the water outlet 13 or the air vent 14, while the otherend of the curved guide groove 12 corresponds to a location halfwaybetween the water outlet 13 and the air vent 14. More specifically, oneend of the curved guide groove 12 can be located on the major axis ofthe upper flange 16, while the other end of the curved guide groove 12can be located on the minor axis of the upper flange 16.

In use, a beverage (such as water, juice, tea, coffee, etc) can be putinto a cup, and then the completed lid assembly can be installed on topof the cup. When a user wants to drink the beverage contained in thecup, the sealing member 2 can be rotated reversely, such as in acounterclockwise direction, to have the two pads 24, 25 moved away fromthe water outlet 13 and the air vent 14 (see FIG. 8). Thus, the user maydrink the beverage easily via the water outlet 13 under the assistanceof the air vent 14 (which allows the beverage to flow out of the cupmore easily). When drinking the beverage is not required, the sealingmember 2 can be rotated forwardly, such as in a clockwise direction, toreturn to its original orientation, thus sealing the water outlet 13 andthe air vent 14 again (see FIG. 5). Due to the positioning protrusions17 of the sealing member 2 being retained in the positioningindentations 23 of the shell body 1, the sealing member 2 is uneasy tomove away that orientation. For moving the sealing member 2 again, theuser should apply an adequate force to the sealing member 2. Due to thestop protrusion 29 being received in the curved guide groove 12, therotational angle or direction of the sealing member 2 is limited by thecurved guide groove 12; that is, the sealing member 2 should be rotatedin a specified direction and cannot be rotated more than 90 degrees, sothat excessive or insufficient movement of the sealing member 2 can beprevented. As such, the water outlet 13 and the air vent 14 can besealed properly. With the lid assembly of the present invention, a cupcan be used more conveniently without worrying about losing the lid.

In addition, the lid assembly of the present invention can bedisassembled easily to have a cleanup. For this purpose, the lidassembly can be disconnected from a cup associated therewith. Next, thesealing member 2 can be rotated by 90 degrees reversly to have theledges 22 thereof moved to the locations where the upper flange 16 has aminimum projection width (B) and a minimum thickness (D) (see FIGS. 7and 8), so that the pads 24, 25 are moved away from the water outlet 13and the air vient 14, respectively. Thereafter, the nut 3 can bedisengaged from the threaded portion 28 of the central shaft 26, andthen the sealing member 2 can be pushed sidewise as shown in FIG. 9 tohave one peripheral convex section 21 thereof clear of the upper flange16, so that the sealing member 2 can be easily detached from the shellbody 1. Finally, the shell body 1, the sealing member 2 and the nut 3can be cleansed separately to remove dirts thereon. Thus, the lidassembly can be used with improved hygiene.

While the invention has been described with reference to the preferredembodiment above, it should be recognized that the preferred embodimentis given for the purpose of illustration only and is not intended tolimit the scope of the present invention and that various modificationsand changes, which will be apparent to those skilled in the relevantart, may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lid assembly, comprising: a shell body having atop portion and a circumferential portion that are integrally formed,the top portion having a recessed surface and an annular top surfacearound the recessed surface and defining a through hole which extendsdownwardly from the recessed surface, wherein the annular top surfacedefines a water outlet and an air vent at two opposite locationsthereof, and a curved guide groove is defined at an inner surface of thethrough hole and extends about the through hole for a predeterminedangle, the circumferential portion provided at its outer surface fromits top to bottom with upper and lower flanges and connection means, anannular groove defined between the upper and lower flanges, theconnection means adapted for connection to a cup, two oppositepositioning protrusions formed at the upper flange and extend into theannular groove; a sealing member having a connection wing and a centralshaft formed at a center of the connection wing, the connection wingbeing configured to have a central concave section matching the recessedsurface of the shell body, and two peripheral convex sections formed attwo ends of the central concave section and extending over the annulartop portion and the upper flange and provided with two pads capable ofsealing the water outlet and the air vent of the shell bodyrespectively, wherein a ledge is formed at each peripheral convexsection and defines thereon a positioning indentation, the central shaftprovided at its outer surface from its top to bottom with a stopprotrusion, a waterproof seal ring, and a threaded portion, the sealingmember capable of being installed on the shell body such that thecentral shaft is inserted through the through hole of the shell body,the ledge formed at each peripheral convex section is fitted into theannular groove of the shell body, the stop protrusion is capable ofmoving along the curved guide groove to have the positioning protrusionsretained in the positioning indentations respectively; and a nutprovided with internal threads engaged with the threaded portion of thecentral shaft of the sealing member which extends out of the throughhole of the shell body.
 2. The lid assembly of claim 1, wherein theupper flange is substantially elliptical in shape and has a maximumprojection width at two opposite locations on a major axis thereof, andthe water outlet and the air vent are on the major axis; the upperflange has a minimum projection width at a second pair of oppositelocations on a minor axis thereof which is perpendicular to the majoraxis.
 3. The lid assembly of claim 1, wherein the upper flange of theshell body is substantially elliptical in shape and has a maximumthickness at a first pair of opposite locations on a major axis thereof,and the water outlet and the air vent are on the major axis, the upperflange has a minimum thickness at a second pair of opposite locations ona minor axis thereof which is perpendicular to the major axis; the upperflange gradually changing in thickness from the maximum thickness to theminimun thickness.
 4. The lid assembly of claim 1, wherein the curvedguide groove begins at one end corresponding to the water outlet or theair vent, and extends about the through hole for about 90 degrees.